William O. Douglas

“ But if, as the evidence shows, the dependable Lower Basin supply of system waters is only 8,000,000 acre-feet per annum, 2,000,000 of which are in the tributaries, California can look only to 6,000,000 acre-feet in the mainstream. Thus, California will never be entitled to any of the additional Article III (b) waters (500,000 acre-feet) in the Lower Basin system. Those 'surplus' waters would necessarily be in the tributaries, and under the Court's interpretation they belong exclusively to Arizona, § 4 (a) to the contrary notwithstanding. ”

“ The Court accomplishes this by distorting both the history and language of the Project Act.
The Court relies heavily on the terms and history of a proposed tri-state compact, authorized by § 4 (a) but never adopted by the States concerned, viz., Arizona, California and Nevada. The proposed tri-state compact provided for a division of tributary waters identical to that made by the Court, insofar as the Gila is awarded to Arizona. The Court is reality enforces its interpretation of the proposed tri-state compact and imposes its terms upon California. ”

“ With due respect, the majority achieves that result by misreading the Colorado River Compact, the Project Act, and by misreading the legislative history leading up to the California Limitation Act. An analysis of the legislative history will show, as already noted, that the Court's analysis is built mainly upon statement made by the various Senators in arguing the terms of a proposed tristate compact that was never made. ”